OHIO LEGISLATIVE SERVICE COMMISSION
Office of Research Legislative Budget
www.lsc.ohio.gov and Drafting Office
H.B. 29 Bill Analysis
135th General Assembly
Click here for H.B. 29’s Fiscal Note
Version: As Reported by Senate Judiciary
Primary Sponsors: Reps. Humphrey and Brewer
Effective date:
Margaret E. Marcy, Attorney
SUMMARY
Driver’s license suspensions
Drug offenses
▪ Removes the possible penalty of a driver’s license suspension for a drug abuse offense
unless the offender used a vehicle to further the commission of the offense or, as retained
from current law, the offense occurs under the same circumstances as an OVI-offense.
Failure to pay a court fine or appear
▪ Eliminates the driver’s license suspension for failure to pay a court fine or fee.
▪ Eliminates the option of submitting a valid and unexpired driver’s license, in lieu of bail or
another form of security, as a guarantee that the licensee will appear in court.
▪ Specifies that a person can enter into a payment plan with the clerk of court in order to
avoid an arrest warrant for failure to appear or failure to pay a fine.
▪ Requires, rather than authorizes as under current law, a court to issue a supplemental
citation to a person who fails to appear in court, and delays issuance of a summons or
arrest warrant by the court for failure to appear until 30 days after the supplemental
citation is issued.
▪ Authorizes the supplemental citation to be sent through electronic means to the
offender.
 This analysis was prepared before the report of the Senate Judiciary Committee appeared in the Senate
Journal. Note that the legislative history may be incomplete.
December 18, 2024
Office of Research and Drafting LSC Legislative Budget Office
▪ Requires the Registrar of Motor Vehicles to automatically remove any driver’s license
suspensions or motor vehicle registration suspensions imposed by the Registrar for failure
to pay a court fine or fee and to create a list of individuals whose license was suspended
by a court for that offense and send the list to the applicable courts.
▪ Requires those courts to lift any driver’s license suspensions previously imposed for
failure to pay a court fine or fee.
▪ Prohibits the Registrar from charging any reinstatement fees for the reinstatement of a
driver’s license or motor vehicle registration associated with those suspensions.
Failure to pay child support
▪ Authorizes a person who is in default on child support payments to present evidence that
a driver’s license suspension would effectively prevent that person from paying child
support or the arrearage due under the child support order.
▪ Authorizes the child support enforcement agency to consider that evidence in
determining whether to notify the Registrar to terminate a driver’s license suspension on
the person in default.
▪ Delays the implementation of a driver’s license suspension on a person who is in default
on child support payments for 30 days after the child support enforcement agency sends
notice to the person.
▪ Authorizes a person whose driver’s license is suspended for failure to pay child support
to file a motion with a court with jurisdiction over the child support order for limited
driving privileges in all circumstances, not just when the motion is made during contempt
proceedings as under current law.
Truancy
▪ Removes a driver’s license suspension or a denial of the opportunity to obtain a driver’s
license as possible penalties for a student who is habitually truant from school.
▪ Authorizes a student whose license currently is suspended or who currently is denied the
opportunity to obtain a license because of the student’s habitual truancy to apply to have
the suspension or denial removed.
Proof of financial responsibility penalties
▪ Regarding the imposition of increased penalties for multiple violations of the offense of
operating a motor vehicle without proof of financial responsibility, reduces the lookback
period from five years to one year within which repeat violations must occur.
▪ Eliminates the suspension of motor vehicle registration rights and impoundment of a
motor vehicle’s certificate of registration and license plates as penalties for operating a
motor vehicle without proof of financial responsibility, but retains a driver’s license
suspension as a penalty.
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▪ Eliminates the $50 financial responsibility noncompliance fee when a person fails to
voluntarily surrender the person’s license, certificate of registration, or license plates.
▪ Increases from 15 days to 45 days the grace period, starting at the date the Registrar mails
notification of the pending suspension order, during which a person may present the
Registrar proof of financial responsibility in order to avoid a driver’s license suspension.
▪ Reduces the amount of time from either three or five years down to one year that a
person whose license was suspended for failure to provide proof of financial responsibility
must continually file such proof after the offense (a.k.a., an SR-22 form).
▪ Eliminates the additional criminal penalties and license suspension imposed on a person
who operates a motor vehicle without proof of financial responsibility while the person is
within the period of continually filing an SR-22 form.
Random Selection Verification Program
▪ Requires the Registrar to remove any remaining driver’s license suspensions associated
with the Financial Responsibility Random Verification Program (which was repealed
through H.B. 62 of the 133rd General Assembly).
▪ Prohibits the Registrar from charging any reinstatement fees for the reinstatement of a
driver’s license associated with the program.
Stopping for on-track equipment at a railroad crossing
▪ Requires a vehicle operator to stop for on-track equipment that may be approaching a
railroad crossing.
▪ Requires school vehicle operators, hazardous materials transporters, and certain
construction equipment operators to stop, watch, and listen for on-track equipment that
may be approaching a railroad crossing in the same manner as for trains.
▪ Applies existing penalties to the requirements specified above.
▪ Generally authorizes a court to order an offender to attend and successfully complete a
remedial safety training or presentation regarding rail safety in lieu of a fine or jail term
for failing to stop appropriately at a railroad crossing.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Driver’s license suspensions ........................................................................................................... 4
Drug offenses .............................................................................................................................. 4
Failure to pay a court fine or fee ................................................................................................. 5
License as bond ...................................................................................................................... 6
Registrar reinstatement ......................................................................................................... 6
Failure to pay child support......................................................................................................... 7
Truancy ........................................................................................................................................ 8
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Proof of financial responsibility penalties ...................................................................................... 8
SR-22 form ................................................................................................................................... 9
Random Verification Program reinstatement ........................................................................... 10
Stopping for on-track equipment at a railroad crossing............................................................... 10
Vehicles required to stop every time ........................................................................................ 11
Penalties .................................................................................................................................... 11
Alternative rail safety course .................................................................................................... 12
DETAILED ANALYSIS
Driver’s license suspensions
Drug offenses
Under current law, many drug offenses carry a possible penalty of a driver’s license
suspension.1 The bill removes the general authorization for a court to impose a driver’s license
suspension for these offenses, but continues to allow the court to impose a suspension in limited
circumstances. Specifically:
1. If the drug offense occurs under the same circumstances as an operating a vehicle under
the influence offense (OVI-offense), the bill retains current law’s mandatory driver’s
license suspension of up to five years.
2. If the offender used a vehicle to further the commission of the offense, the bill retains a
discretionary driver’s license suspension of up to five years.
3. If (1) or (2) do not apply, the bill removes the possible penalty of a driver’s license
suspension for the drug offense.2
An offender whose license is suspended, in accordance with parameters detailed above,
may file a motion for the sentencing court to terminate the suspension two years after the
suspension was imposed or the offender is released from jail or prison, whichever date is later.
This early termination is consistent with current law for such suspensions.3
The following table details the drug offenses that are impacted under the bill. Under
current law, for all of the offenses listed below, a court may impose a driver’s license suspension
for any commission of the offense and must impose a suspension if the offense occurs under the
same circumstances as an OVI-offense.
1 References to “driver’s license suspension” throughout this analysis includes a suspension of a
commercial driver’s license, temporary instruction permit, commercial driver’s temporary instruction
permit, and motorcycle operator’s license or endorsement.
2 R.C. 2929.33; R.C. Chapter 2925.
3 R.C. 2925.03(G)(1) and 2929.33(C)(2).
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Drug offenses impacted by the bill
Revised Code Description
R.C. 2925.02 Corrupting another with drugs
R.C. 2925.03 Drug trafficking
R.C. 2925.04 Illegal manufacture of drugs or illegal cultivation of marijuana
Illegal assembly or possession of chemicals for the manufacture
R.C. 2925.041
of drugs
R.C. 2925.05 Funding of drug or marijuana trafficking
R.C. 2925.06 Illegal administration or distribution of anabolic steroids
R.C. 2925.11 Drug possession
R.C. 2925.12 Possessing drug abuse instruments
R.C. 2925.13 Permitting drug abuse
Illegal use or possession of drug paraphernalia (not for
R.C. 2925.14
marijuana)
R.C. 2925.22 Deception to obtain a dangerous drug
R.C. 2925.23 Illegal processing of drug documents
R.C. 2925.31 Abusing harmful intoxicants
R.C. 2925.32 Trafficking in harmful intoxicants
R.C. 2925.36 Illegal dispensing of drug samples
Trafficking in counterfeit controlled substances, promoting and
R.C. 2925.37
encouraging drug abuse, or fraudulent drug advertising
Commission of an out-of-state drug or OVI violation that is
R.C. 4510.17
substantially similar to the Revised Code offenses
Failure to pay a court fine or fee
The bill eliminates the driver’s license suspension and motor vehicle registration
suspension associated with failure to pay a court fine or fee. Under current law, a person who
either fails to appear in court or fails to pay a court fine or fee associated with a minor
misdemeanor traffic or vehicle equipment offense is subject to a driver’s license and motor
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vehicle registration suspension imposed by either the court, the Registrar, or both. 4 The bill
removes the suspensions for failure to pay a court fine or fee, but retains the suspension for
failure to appear. However, the bill requires, rather than authorizes as under current law, the
court to send a supplemental citation to the person. The court must wait to issue a summons,
arrest warrant, or license suspension for the failure to appear until 30 days after the
supplemental citation is issued. The bill authorizes the court to send the supplemental citation
through electronic means.5
Additionally, the bill adds an option for a person to enter into an installment payment
plan for all court fines, fees, and costs with the clerk of the court. If the person enters into a
payment plan, the court cannot issue and must cancel a previously issued summons or arrest
warrant for the person.6
License as bond
Relatedly, the bill eliminates the option of submitting a valid and unexpired driver’s
license, in lieu of bail or another form of security, as a guarantee that the licensee will appear in
court. Under current law, a person may post bond by depositing the driver’s license with the
arresting officer. Then, when the person appears in court to answer the traffic charges and pays
any court fines, fees, and costs, the court returns the license to the person. 7
Registrar reinstatement
Within 30 days of the bill’s effective date, the bill requires the Registrar to remove any
suspensions of a person’s driver’s license or motor vehicle registration that were imposed by the
Registrar for failure to pay a court fine or fee. Additionally, the Registrar must create a list of any
individuals whose license or registration was suspended by a court for failure to pay a court fine
or fee. The Registrar must then send that list to the respective courts, who must then order the
Registrar to remove the applicable suspensions. The Registrar may not charge any fees, including
reinstatement fees, for the reinstatement of these driver’s licenses. Impacted individuals may
reinstate their licenses at their local deputy registrar offices. However, if an individual has
additional license suspensions, that individual will need to wait until the other suspensions are
eligible for reinstatement. The Registrar must notify any impacted individual about the terms of
and process for the driver’s license reinstatement.8
4 R.C. 1901.44, 1905.202, 1907.25, 2935.26, 2935.27, 2937.221, repealed, 2947.09, and 4510.22;
conforming changes in R.C. 4501.06, 4503.10, 4503.102, 4503.12, and 4503.39.
5 R.C. 2935.26 and 2935.27.
6 R.C. 2935.26.
7 R.C. 2935.27, 2937.221, repealed, and 2937.40; conforming changes in R.C. 4501.06, 4503.10, 4503.102,
4503.12, and 4503.39.
8 Section 5.
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